Taking Responsibility

Aritu aku ada baca blog sorang blogger terkenal ni. Dia cite pasal alkisahnya dia termengandung and terpaksa buat D&C sebab dia takmo lalui process mengandung tu lagi. Sebenarnya, dari entri2 dia yang lepas, memang aku dapat bayangkan agak seksa time dia ngandung...lama kena tahan kat hospital semua, sebab complication and everything. So aku tak salahkan dia kalau dia taknak lagi go through the experience anymore.

Yang aku tak berapa paham ialah kenapa lepas dah termengandung, dia takmo ambik apa2 precaution untuk tak mengandung lagi. Contohnya, diri aku sendiri la. Aku dah memang declare dah...lepas Daria aritu, aku dah stop production. I know my own mind and body, aku tau aku takkan dapat lalui process mengandung lagi without severe consequences. Lepas one month check up, aku soh doctor pasangkan IUD. Memang itu kaedah yang serasi ngan aku. Nak makan pil, En Rashid tak bagi. Nak pakai yang cucuk dalam tangan tu pun, En Rashid tak bagi. Semua benda2 chemical ni En Rashid gerun sket, walaupun bukan badan dia yang kena. OKla, aku anggap itu tanda dia prihatin ngan aku. Hehehe. Since condom pun is not an option (3 out 6 pregnancies aku berlaku even with condom in play!!), the only option left was to put in an IUD.

Memula aku cuak jugak, nak letak besi dalam anu. Ye ah...baca lak kat internet, memacam cerita pengalaman orang pakai IUD ni. Tapi lepas berbicang ngan doctor aku, dia pun suggest pakai IUD. Safe, easy to manage and I only need to come by one a year for check ups...just to make sure it stays in place. Alhamdullillah, so far, this methond has worked best for me. Aku tak pernah alami cramps ke, bleeding ke...time "bersama" tu pun, orait je..hehe.

So back to my question again. Kalau dah sure sangat2 taknak mengandung lagi, kenapa taknak cuba segala kaedah supaya perkara tu tak berlaku? Ini tak..bila dah termengandung, salahkan laki...padahal it takes two to make a baby. Plus, it's your body...should be your own responsibility. Kalau ko dah takmo ambik apa2 cara untuk mengelakkan dari ko mengandung, jangan la salahkan laki or takdir..and then go for D&C. Pada aku, itu sangat tak betul. Anak dalam perut tu rezeki...payah perit kita membawa, kalau mati, mati syahid. Bukan la aku nak menggalakkan si blogger tu ngandung just for the sake nak mati syahid...tapi perlu tengok dari kontex agama dengan lebih mendalam. Jangan ikut perasaan hati hanya berdasarkan pengalaman lepas. Kalau betul dah takmo mengandung lagi, then take proactive precautions to make sure it doesn't happen.

Aku bukan nak bang sesapa, tapi ini sebagai peringatan kepada semua orang, termasuk la diri aku sendiri. Banyak kali perkara yang tak diingini berlaku pada diri kita tapi kita cepat sangat nak salahkan orang lain, salahkan keadaan, salahkan takdir. Padahal, diri kita berkemampuan untuk mengelakkan perkara tak diingini itu berlaku.

Renung2kan...dan selamat beramal!

Let's Bring on 2012 Now!!

Seriously, how sick am I about my exams. I had my 2nd paper tonite...horrendous!! Only one case study which was 21 PAGES LONG...took me 1.5 hours to read and understand the damn thing, then I got totally lost at how to start answering. Ended up rambling and drawing numerous tables for 6 pages, while sitting for 3 hours on the most uncomfortable folding desk chair in the history of exam taking!!!!

The "best" part is...for most of my classmates, tonite was their last exam. Me? Nooooo...I have to have my last paper tomorrow, on a Saturday no doubt. In the afternoon. When everyone is taking their mid-day nap, I will be scribbling yet again nonsense on sheets of paper, in hopes of at least humoring my lecturer into giving me pity marks.

Bahhh!!!

The lecturers should understand. Classes that required a research paper, should not have final exams. The research paper took up so much time to conduct and analyze. Grrrr...plus, seriously, 14 chapters to read for tomorrow?!! Hah...I laugh in the face of the impossible!

You know what I"m gonna do? I'm gonna celebrate my FREEDOM (say it like Braveheart!) by buying a big ass fridge tomorrow. That's right...I'm gonna swipe my credit card (or En Rashid's) and bring me home a double door fridge that would allow me to sleep in there if I wanted to. Hahahhaa...

Until then, I'm going to bed. There's no point trying to read tonight, I might as well call it a night and skim through my notes tomorrow.

Anyway, if I don't blog tomorrow coz I'm too busy hauling my big ass fridge...here's wishing everyone HAPPY NEW YEAR...may 2012 not suck!!

After Watching Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon, I Realized....

...the actual hero (or rather heroin) of the story is not Sam Witwicky or Optimus Prime or BumbleBee. It's Carly.

After all that happened, it turns out that in order to win the war, it doesn't depend on what technology you have, or what type of guns you have, or what type of car you drive.

It depends on whether you can bitch-talk two "friends" into fighting and killing each other.


''You'll be nothing, but Sentinel's bitch!''

Hah!!




ps: Dania watched the movie with us and right after Carly delivered that line, she turned and looked at me and asked "What's a bitch?"

Thanks a lot, Michael Bay!!

It Doesn't Really Take That Long Anyway...

This piece of news caught my eye today.

Hertz fires 26 Muslim drivers in dispute

More than two dozen Somali Muslim drivers for Hertz at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport are being fired after refusing to clock out for daily breaks during which they normally pray, according to media reports.
The 26 workers drive the company's rental cars to and from the airport for cleaning and refueling. They are among 34 Hertz employees suspended Sept. 30 for failing to clock out before breaks.
Eight of the 34 signed the clock-out agreement and have returned to their jobs, company spokesman Rich Broome told The Associated Press Friday in an email. Termination letters have been sent to the rest.
The company made it clear the suspended workers needed to agree to the clock-out conditions by the end of the day Thursday if they wanted to be reinstated, Broome told The Seattle Times.
The firings were first reported by KOMO-TV.
Broome told the AP earlier this month "It's not about prayer, it's not about religion; it's about reasonable requirements."
Observant Muslims pray several times a day.
Hertz said the suspended workers were violating provisions of a collective bargaining agreement and a settlement with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reached two years ago.
Teamsters Local 117, which represents the workers, said the two sides were unable to negotiate an agreement that would have allowed the workers to return to their pre-suspension status, under which they wouldn't have to clock out to pray.
Union spokesman Paul Zilly said the workers were given an ultimatum to sign the clock-out document.

If Hertz felt some employees were abusing the break policies, it should have dealt with them individually, Zilly said.
The union said the break clock-out requirement is not in the contract and Hertz had agreed during negotiations last year that it would not require it.
The union has filed an unfair labor practices complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. The union also said it is filing religious discrimination charges with the EEOC.
The union represents nearly 80 Hertz drivers who earn between $9.15 and $9.95 an hour. About 70 percent are Muslims.
Here's the link to the story. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44985725/ns/us_news/#.TqGWM1Zr6So

OK, here's my take on the story. I don't know exactly how long these workers are taking to perform their prayers but in actual fact, it does not take more than 10 minutes for each prayer. Shorter if the person is a guy because for ladies, we need to take off our head covering, take off our make up, take care of our prayer attire, etc, etc. But for guys, the just need to take ablution, make sure their attire covers down to their knees and start praying. Unless the workers were also taking a cigarette break, their absence would only be for 10 minutes, at most for each prayer time.

Plus, if they were working 9-5, then there's only 2 prayer times that they need to perform during working hours; Zohor and Asar. Just 20 minutes out of the 8 hours they're working.

Again, the article didn't say how long these workers were taking off to perform their prayers and I can't claim to know the policies for clocking in and clocking out as we don't implement those in our company (Thank god!). However, I really feel that the company could have handled the situation in a much better way.If a few of the employees were taking longer than 20 minutes for each prayer break, then the company should have handled them individually.

Whatever the outcome, I hope it ends positively for both the workers and the company. And most of all, I hope this doesn't deter other companies from hiring Muslims as their employees.

Peace!

Yer, Tolong Jangan Menyemakkan Bangi!

I saw this in the paper today.

I totally support the ban!! I love the fact that Bangi has nothing. Hahahha...except for a few small hypermarkets, we only have a defunct bowling alley. Which is fine!!! We don't need those stuff to mess up Bangi. I don't want Bangi to become a choked up town like Bangsar or Puchong. I'm fine without the traffic and the chaos. I'm fine with driving 18kn to Putrajaya to see a movie. I'm fine with going to Mines to play bowling.

Just keep them out of Bangi. Buat semak je!!

What Made Me Believe In Humanity Again...

The Japanese are well known for many things. Many admirable things. I wanted to blog about this last week but was too poofed out after terawih.

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The earthquake and tsunami that walloped Japan left much of its coastline ravaged, but left one thing intact: the Japanese reputation for honesty.


In the five months since the disaster struck, people have turned in thousands of wallets found in the debris, containing $48 million in cash.

More than 5,700 safes that washed ashore along Japan's tsunami-ravaged coast have also been hauled to police centers by volunteers and search and rescue crews. Inside those safes officials found $30 million in cash. One safe alone, contained the equivalent of $1 million.

The National Police Agency says nearly all the valuables found in the three hardest hit prefectures, have been returned to their owners.

"In most cases, the keyholes on these safes were filled with mud," said Koetsu Saiki with the Miyagi Prefectural Police. "We had to start by cutting apart the metal doors with grinders and other tools."

Determining who the safes belonged to, proved to be the easy part. Saiki says most kept bankbooks or land rights documents inside the boxes, containing their names and address. Tracking the owners down, was much more challenging.

Total of $78 Million Was Returned to Owners in Wake of Japan Catastrophe

"The fact that these safes were washed away, meant the homes were washed away too," he said. "We had to first determine if the owners were alive, then find where they had evacuated to."

Saiki says Miyagi police fanned out across the region, searching for names of residents posted at evacuation centers, digging through missing person reports at town halls, sorting through change of address forms at the post office, to see if the owner had moved away. When they couldn't find the documents, police called listed cell phone numbers, met with mayors or village leaders to see if they recognized the names.

The number of safes continued to increase as the clearing of tsunami debris led to more discoveries. Police stations struggling to find space for them housed the valuables in parking garages and meeting rooms.

Saiki says 20 percent of the 2,450 safes found in Miyagi turned out to be empty. But, the remaining 250 boxes contained much more than cash. Some included bars of gold, antiques, even crafted boxes containing a child's umbilical cord, a common memento of child birth. Police had to delicately comb through the keepsakes, since many of the items were damaged, after being soaked in seawater and mud for days or weeks.

The stashing of cash in safes isn't a unique problem in Japan, where many people prefer to keep their money at home, but Saiki says the number of boxes is especially high in the coastal region where fishermen make up a large part of the population. Fisheries companies prefer cash transactions, and keep employee salaries in safes, he said.

The number of lost items recovered has declined with every month, but Saiki says his department continues to receive a handful of safes a week.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/honest-japanese-return-78-million-cash-found-quake/story?id=14322940

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Can you imagine? I mean the people who found the safes and valuables would also have been victims of the earthquake and tsunami. Not for one minute did they even think about keeping the money and using it for their own purposes. There's no Finder's Keepers mentality there. If it's not yours, then you need to return it to its rightful owner.
 
Again, I just can't express how impressed I am with the Japanese. Maybe to them, this is not a big issue. But to me, who have seen on a daily basis, the selfishness of mankind...it made me stop and think. And continue to be impressed.

Duit, Duit...Ke Mana Kau Duit?

Kekadang ada orang tanya aku, “ko, kereta dah habis bayar, apartment dah habis bayar, hutang rumah takde…apa ko buat ngan duit ko?”

Walaupun ada orang maybe pikir, apa punya soklan tu…sibuk je nak tau apa orang lain buat ngan duit dia, sedikit sebanyak soalan macam tu buat aku berpikir gak….apa yek aku buat ngan duit gaji aku bulan2?

Nak kata aku joli beli baju baru tiap bulan, takde. Beli kasut pun takde. Make up jauh sekali la. Nak kata aku pamper diri aku pi spa ke, set rambut ke selalu, pun takde gak. Manjang takde masa. Jadi duit aku pi mana yek?

Aku bleh namakan 3 kategori ke mana most of duit aku pi.

1^st, anak2 aku. Anak2 aku ni kan semua girls, aku ni plak jenis pantang lalu tepi kedai yang jual gown2 comel…mesti nak singgah. Gown2 plak jual, bukan harga singgit dua…berpuluh2 ringgit. Kekadang aku sanggup pakai bra and spentot koyak, asalkan anak2 aku bergown comel sentiasa. Parah! Hahaha…Kalau hal sekolah anak2 aku pun, mostly aku yang bayar semua benda. Duit yuran, hal buku, hal stationary, duit van….itu semua masuk bawah expenses aku. Sebab tu En Rashid takde la bising sangat kalau aku nak bawak anak2 aku pi kelas music ke, kelas social budak2 ke…sebab dia tau, aku takde nak minta duit kat dia punya.  

2nd, aku rasa duit aku banyak pi ke part makan. Aku ni, kalau part makan, mesti nak sedap dan satisfying. Selalunya kalau nak makanan ciri2 camtu, mesti la mahal. Kekadang aku set jugak la, duit untuk lunch takleh lebih RM5 sehari. Itu kalau aku dah plan untuk beli something yang mahal, so kena save up. Time tu la aku dok kulu kilir bwk botol air kosong, nak isi air suam free manjang. Tapi kalau part makan ngan family, aku memang tak piker hal duit. Janji bleh swipe CC. Selalu once a month, aku ngan En Rashid akan ajak family aku pi makan luar reramai. Family En Rashid payah sket, sebab MIL aku jenis suka masak kat rumah. Kalau ajak makan luar, dia teramat la liat….and then kalau pi pun, dia akan ngomel tanya berapa harga itu, berapa harga ini. Lain benar ngan ibu aku, pantang ajak keluar makan, dia dah siap sarung tudung dah. Hehehehe…

3^rd, duit aku banyak habis kalau kitaorg pi travelling. Aku ni jenis, kalau pi travel tu, mesti nak duduk hotel selesa, makan tempat yang best, pi melawat semua tempat2 yang patut. Semua tu pakai duit kan? Last year yang kitaorang pi HK, ada dalam 5 bulan jugak aku save up duit…just for a week of holiday. Tapi aku tak rasa galat. Sebab pada aku, semua tu menjadi memories and life experience yang best untuk anak2 aku. Sampai sekarang pun, dia orang dok bercerita pasal trip ke HK.  

So, itu la dia...cara2 aku menghabiskan duit aku. Takde la happenning sangat pun...asalkan takde hutang keliling pinggang dan tak menyusahkan orang lain, ok la kan....

What Our Kids Will Learn In Kindergarden

A: APPLE

B: BLUETOOTH or BLOG
C: CHAT
D: DOWNLOAD
E: E MAIL
F: FACEBOOK
G: GOOGLE
H: HEWLETT PACKARD

I: iPHONE

J: JAVA

K: KINGSTON OR KINECT

L: LAPTOP

M: MESSENGER

N: NERO
O: ORKUT
P: PICASSA

Q: QUICK HEAL
R: RAM
S: SERVER
T: TWITTER
U: USB V: VISTA OR VIRUS

W: WiFi

X: Xp OR Xbox
Y: YOU TUBE

Z: ZORPIA
Thank God .... A is still Apple

It's Not Too Late...

Exam semua dah settle. Ari sabtu yang lepas, last paper. Camne? OK la...budget waktu untuk exam 2 1/2 jam, aku dah siap jawab dalam masa tak sampai 2 jam pun. Hehehehe...ada 8 soalan, kena pilih 4. Sib baik la apa yang aku target keluar...dapat gak la aku menggoreng macam biasa. Semoga lulus dengan A!! Hehehehe...

So now, aku tengah cuti trimester. 2 minggu kot, ntah, kena check website. Muahahaha...boleh ke tak sure bila sekolah naik balik? To tell you the truth, I already miss classes. Taking my MBA now is such a different experience from when I was taking my degree 15 years ago (mak ai...ambik ko, tua dah tu!!). Aku rasa sebab sekarang ni aku ambik MBA, dah ada experience keje, so apa yang aku belajar, semua dah boleh relate (kecuali kelas finance..:p). Dulu masa ambik degree, sepatah haram aku tak nampak camne bleh apply benta'alah ni kat tempat keje or in life. Memang seksa...dah la aku ni bukan technical punya brain, ko pi lak ambik Electrical & Electronic Engineering...mak ai, macam buku bertemu ruas!! (betul ke peribahasa yang aku guna?). Tapi sekarang ni, apa yang aku belajar, semua makes sense. Aku bleh angkat tangan bagi pendapat yang munasabah dan munasarawak sekali dalam kelas.

Sebab tu kan, aku rasa, untuk anak2 aku...lepas depa habis SPM ke apa, aku takmo diaorang terus masuk uni untuk degree. Aku nak diaorang keje dulu, carik experience, carik dulu minat diaorang. Then baru la sambung belajar untuk dapatkan tektik2 dan teori2 yang diperlukan.

Tapiiiiii...sistem pelajaran negara ni tak menggalakkan pilihan macam tu. Kalau ko tolak tawaran masuk uni lepas spm, lepas tu dah takde tempat untuk ko lagi. Unless le banyak duit and masuk private U. Which actually aku tak kisah spend untuk anak2 aku...tapi aku tau, public universities kita pun sangat bagus program2 dia. Aku ambik MBA ni pun at one of the top public Unis in Malaysia and also one of the top ranking business schools in Asia. So why would I want to spend for a private U, when the public ones have good programs too?

Dilema.

Aku dah cakap ngan anak2 aku, kalau boleh, aku takmo diaorang keje ofis macam aku ngan En Rashid. Very mundane. Same thing day in day out. Kalau boleh, aku nak diaorang keje yang best dan menarik...macam photographer untuk Discovery Channel....or scientist yang kaji whales ke. Something interesting like that,a job that takes you to wonderful places and lets you meet all sorts of different people. Dulu masa aku kecik2, aku berangan nak jadi journalist yang selalu pi buat liputan kat tempat berperang. Agak giller gak dream aku, tapi masa tu aku pikir menariknya kalau aku dapat pi tengok keadaan dunia and get paid for it!! Sekarang dream job aku nak jadi Samantha Brown. Hehehehe...getting paid to travel the world.

Apa2 pun, aku rasa aku ambik MBA ni, bukan sekadar nak bukak opportunity aku naik kat Kompeni aku sekarang. Tapi lebih kepada membuka minda aku ke peluang2 lain yang ada kat dunia ni. Money is not everything, even when you're married with 3 kids. It's nice to have a lot...but I'll rather live with enough and be excited about my life, than live with a lot and feel unfulfilled.

Salam Maal Hijrah

Slow kan aku? Biasa la..karang dah 10 hari lepas Christmas, baru aku wish yer. Then New Year, aku sambut in Februari. Muahahaha...

Ni saja nak share email yang aku receive from kawan (thanks Lin!) tentang Hijrah yang sebenarnya.

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Tadi ustadz ceramah pasal hijrah. Antara isi kandungannya ialah

1. Kemenangan yang pertama bagi seorang muslim ialah apabila meninggalkan larangan Allah walaupun sukar utk dilakukan.

2. Hijrah pasti ada kebajikan.

3. Beza antara sambutan hijrah dan pengamatan hijrah. Kalau sambut tu..kite sekadar baca doa, baca yassin, tabalkan tokoh hijrah tapi masyarakat dan diri kita tetapi tidak berubah. Betapa Rasulullah berhijrah meninggalkan tanah tumpah lahir atas arahan Allah dan sehelai sepinggang tak piker pun apa nak tinggal or makan di madinah nanti. Akhirnya kemenangan di pihak rasul dan islam di mana di madinah nabi dapat berdakwah dan mengembangkan ajaran Islam.

4. Antara contoh hijrah ialah solat awal waktu, baca tafsir alquran, ajak anak2 baca dan hayati alquran, solat jamaah.

5. Ni part yang paling syahdu bila ustadz bercerita tentang Abdul Rahman bin Auf sabahat Rasulullah yang tertinggal takbiratul ihram untuk solat jamaah, beliau telah menginfakkan 100 unta kerana kelewatannya takbiratulihram bersama Nabi bukannya tertinggal jamaah pun. Tetapi Nabi mengatakan 100 unta itu tidak dapat membayar lewatnya takbiratulihram bersama Nabi. Bayangkan kita ni solat pun dilewat2kan dah la tak jamaah…tak sedih poon(Ketika ini ustadz sgt syahdu hingga ustadz menangis dan menangkupkan wajahnya ke meja…aduhhhh orang beriman ni kisah nabi dan sahabat pun dia boleh syahdu..kitorang satu kelas senyap je la tgk ustadz dan ada akak tu hulurkan tisu…)

6. Ciri2 hijrah (kemenangan)
a. Berjaya menundukkan nafsu utk taat perintah Allah
b. Ibadah kepada Allah semakin sempurna
c. Islam semakin tersebar (ustad dok kata kita buat sambutan Maal Hijarh tapi masyarakat tetap semakin teruk..kalu baca doa awal dan akhir tahun tapi tidak berhijrah pun..itu pun konsep hijrah rasulullah)

7. Kisah Asma’ bt Abu Bakar yang menjadi pembawa makanan ketika Nabi dan Abu Bakar menyorok di Gua Thur. Ketika itu Asma’ mengandung 8 bulan dan berjalan kaki sejauh 7km dr Mekah dan menaiki bukit selama satu jam!

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Agak terasa hina dan malu sendiri bila terbaca email ni sebab time Hari Maal Hijrah, aku tengah buat apa? Ada kelas tambahan, pi beli baju sekolah anak, lepas tu terbongkang depan TV tengok HBO. Hmmm...macam "as usual" je...takde unsur2 nak berhijrah ke arah yang lebih baik pun.

Tapi takpe!! Penghijrahan tak semestinya berlaku dalam masa sehari je. Ia sepatutnya satu proses yang mengambil masa tapi kekal. Jangan hari ni berhijrah ke arah baik, esok berhujrah balik ke arah jahat. Heeee.

Apa yang aku nak "hijrahkan" diri aku?
1. Taknak buang masa lagi.
2. Taknak buat keje last minute.
3. Taknak lengahkan waktu solat.
4. Nak berhijrah ke perhubungan suami isteri yang lebih baik. (bukan nak kata sekarang tak baik...tapi of course, bleh improve.)
5. Nak berhijrah menjadi ibu yang lebih penyayang, lebih penyabar (agak payah ni...hehehe..takpe, coba dulu), lebih mengambil tahu tentang perkembangan anak2 dari segi hal sekolah, hal agama, hal makan minum. Eventho masa tu terhad sebab keje and sekolah part time...tapi kena usahakan. Lagipun, bukankah anak itu amanah Allah yang sebenarnya?

Banyak lagi nak kena "hijrahkan" diri ni..tapi cukup la yang aku senaraikan kat sini dulu. Ini pun kena mind set betul2 dulu. Semoga berjaya. Amiiinn.

Scholarship Award

Today I attended an award ceremony for staff who were selected to receive the Company's scholarship for furthering studies. It was quite nice; I was expecting just some boring speech and briefing on the do's and dont's as a scholar. It turned out they had hi-tea and an actual award ceremony (complete with picture taking moments) with the Chief Human Capital Officer.

It made me feel special. And very lucky. Out of the hundred plus applications, only 26 were selected to receive scholarships for our degree, masters and PhD studies. And according to the CHCO, the number could have been zero, if according to the extreme cost cutting exercises going on in the Company right now.

Truth be told, I hadn't been banking on getting the scholarship. I was set to do my MBA, with or without it. My interview session with the Scholarship panel wasn't all that impressive, as all my previous interview sessions have been. I really need to learn to stop rambling on when I have nothing relevant or logic to say.

But I got selected. And after learning the facts, it has made me even more determined to work harder and study smarter.

Go, Along!!

Garage Sale?

I feel like having a garage sale. Everytime I enter the 2nd bedroom upstairs, I see all the accumulated clothes, books, toys and basically junk stashed up in the corner. It's a hassle to sweep there plus I'm almost certain something could have died there without me knowing.

I know I have too many books to count, plus the girls have many clothes that are too small for them but still in really good shape. And God knows, hubby has too many shirts and t-shirts to fit into his closet.

I wonder if I can rope in my mom and brothers to join in for the garage sale.

Yes, this is going to be my next project.

Like I haven't got enough projects already.

Memory Lost

I have very bad memory, especially when it comes to remembering people’s names or even the person themselves. A lot of the times, I meet someone whom I’ve had contact with in the past, that person would be like “Hi Along. How are you? How’s the kids…bla..bla..bla. And I’ll be standing there with a stupid grin on my face, thinking “where do I know you from? Please say your name!”

The same thing happened again this morning. I was lining up at the IRC counter downstairs when one of the personnel asked me “excuse me, did you used to do A-levels at *****”? I looked up at the person and smiled, why, yes, I did used to study there. The guy smiled back and said, yeah, I thought I recognized you…how’s ayam?

Note: Ayam used to be En Rashid’s nick back in school. Don’t ask me how he got it. Friends from his school/uni days still call him that. Never fails to make me laugh.

I looked at the guy again and racked my brain, searching for some indication that I knew him. Alas, I could not place him anywhere in my past. Best thing was, he mentioned some of my other friends and how they had all stayed in touch via FB.

FB!!

I refuse to get sucked in!!

I told Liza about the guy and she said, yeah…I don’t really remember him either but we stay in touch once in awhile. Over FB. Hmmm…

I guess that’s another reason why I won’t be jumping onto the FB wagon anytime soon. I told Liza, I wouldn’t be accepting anyone from my past as my friend as I wouldn’t recognize any of them. Hahaha.

But seriously, back to the topic at hand. How come people can remember me but I can’t remember people? I try, seriously…I did the whole Ginkgo thingy but did nothing for my memory. Also, I’m not trying to imply that I’m super famous or anything but some people even remember small details about me, like I used to like eating tauhu sumbat or I used to wear a certain kind of perfume. Like really small details…unworthy of being remembered. In one way, I feel flattered that these people still remember me, even after all these years. On the other hand, it bugs me that it’s not mutual…that my mind dismisses people and events from my memory like it only has 10kb capacity.

So people out there, if you see me and I don’t remember, please don’t take it to heart. I’m sure you were a significant part in my life. To those who I do remember, you guys must be pretty special, right? ;)

The Story of The Cracked Pot

I received this via email from one of my professors. It made me think...and smile. I hope it does the same for you.

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A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole, which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it; and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots of water to his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made.

But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you."

"Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?"

"I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path."

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."
Moral: Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are, and look for the good in them.

Fesyen Muslimah Terbaru Kah?

This was taken during one of our makan2 sessions, the day before puasa. My staff treated the team. I was trying to be very discreet taking the photo. I need to learn from Famil on how to take better candid photos using my handphone.

Wearing headgear + tight shirt +mini skirt + leggings?

Fesyen Muslimah terbaru kah?

Menutup aurat kah itu?

Aku yang tak up-to-date ngan trend sekarang ke?

Ntah la, takmo komen banyak2. Aku dulu pun, time muda mudi, teringin nak pakai skirt2 pendek macam ni tapi dek peha aku gemuk gedabak, lupakan je lah niat tu kan. Bagus gak, kalau tak...aku pakai macam ni, En Rashid kata aku buang tebiat apa!! Silap2 kena ban dari kluar rumah.

Jika Anak...

jika anak kita hidup dalam kesabaran
dia belajar menjadi penyabar

jika anak kita hidup dalam penerimaan
dia akan belajar menyayangi

jika anak kita hidup dalam pujian
dia akan belajar menghargai

jika anak kita hidup dalam galakan
dia belajar menjadi yakin

jika anak kita hidup dalam kritikan
dia belajar menyalahkan orang lain

jika anak kita hidup dalam kekasaran
dia akan belajar melawan

jika anak kita hidup dalam ketakutan
dia belajar menjadi pengecut

jika anak kita hidup dalam iri hati
dia belajar merasa bersalah

jika anak kita hidup dalam persetujuan
dia belajar menyayangi diri nya

jika anak kita hidup dalam pengiktirafan
dia belajar bahawa ada baiknya mempunyai matlamat

jika anak kita hidup dalam kejujuran
dia belajar tentang kebenaran

jika anak kita hidup dalam keadilan
dia belajar menjadi adil

jika anak kita hidup dalam keselamatan
dia yakin pada diri dan orang lain

jika anak kita hidup dalam kemesraan
dia belajar bahawa dunia ini adalah tempat yang membahagiakan

tanyalah pada diri..adakah kita menyediakan persekitaran yang memberangsangkan untuk anak-anak kita hidup cemerlang..

Something To Get To Know You Better By

Since I'm poofed from my class assignments and won't have much time to write a proper post, let's do a bit of a psychological profiling exercise. Here's where I get my 3 readers to tell me more about themselves and I hope in the process, learn something about themselves as well.

OK, answer the following questions truthfully.

1) Think about your favorite colour and write down three adjectives describing that color.


2)Think about your favorite animal and write down three words describing that animal.


3) Now, think about an all white room. The walls are white, the floor is white, there is no sound in the room, no windows, everything is white. Now list three words to describe how that room makes you feel.


4) Lastly, think about a body of water. Any body of water whether it's an ocean, river, stream whatever. List three words describing that body of water.

Understand the questions? OK, now give me your answers in the comments. I'll let you know what they mean in my next post. Also, if I feel like sharing, I'll give you my answers too. Heee.

Tazkirah Hari Selesa - Solat Atau Sembahyang?

I recieved this email from a colleague, very eye opening. Hope we can all learn something from this.

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SOLAT ATAU SEMBAHYANG

Hampir kebanyakan umat Islam hari ini tidak terlepas daripada menggunakan istilah "Sembahyang" yang merujuk kepada "Solat." Tetapi pada hakikatnya, istilah "Sembahyang" mempunyai maksud atau pengertian yang terdapat unsur "Syirik."

Professor Hasbi As Siddiqi di dalam salah satu bukunya, membahas perkataan "Sembahyang." Katanya; "Sembahyang di ambil daripada perkataan "Sembah" dan "Hyang" yang merujuk kepada nama dewa - dewa yang disembah oleh penganut Agama Hindu dahulu kala.

"Sembahyang" juga diertikan sebagai "menyembah berhala yang bernama Hyang." Dua pakar Bahasa Indonesia, yang salah seorangnya pernah datang ke Malaysia, mengajar di Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), iaitu Dr Daniel juga telah mengesahkan bahawa istilah "Sembahyang" merujuk kepada "menyembah dewa yang bernama Hyang."

Orang Buddha pergi ke Tokong, Orang Hindu pergi ke Kuil dan Orang Kristian pergi ke Gereja menggunakan istilah "Sembahyang, " terserahlah kepada mereka, kerana memang terdapat unsur "Syirik" dalam ibadah mereka. Tetapi Umat Islam, tidak sesuai sekiranya, "Solat" juga diistilahkan sebagai "Sembahyang" , yang mana pada asalnya kata sembahyang itu merujuk kepada "menyembah dewa bernama Hyang."

Kalau boleh ubahlah ayat seperti seorang ibu atau bapa mengarahkan anaknya bangun untuk menunaikan Solat Subuh. "nak, bangun!. pergi "Sembahyang Subuh," kepada "nak, bangun!. Pergi "Solat Subuh." Solat lebih tepat istilahnya

Mungkin sebahagian daripada kita, akan menganggap bahawa hal ini hanyalah hal yang remeh dan tidak begitu penting. Tetapi bagi mereka yang mempunyai kesedaran Agama dan memetingkan kualiti ibadah, akan sentiasa berhati-hati dan mengambil perhatian akan hal seperti ini.

Semoga Allah merahmati usaha kita. Amin!.

Dilema

The heart wants to but the mind cautions me that I may not be able to handle the load.

The support is there from hubby but I still need to inform the bosses and acknowledge that sacrifices will need to be made.

The deadline draws closer...only 15 more days to go.

Should I? Shouldn't I?

Why Women Rule

Quick post; in the midst of a heated discussion with the Vendor...biasa la, time nak dapatkan tender, semua bleh...dah award, time tuuuuu la, semua benda ada conditionnya. Aku sepuk kang..tak raya cina ko dibuatnya kang!!

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Received this email from my boss, thought it would be nice to share this lovely Monday morning.

"Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater.
If you give her sperm, she'll give you a baby.
If you give her a house, she'll give you a home.
If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal.
If you give her a smile, she'll give you her heart.
She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her.


So...if you give her any crap, be ready to receive a ton of shit!!"